"If two solid surfaces meet at a narrow-enough angle, fluids in microgravity naturally flow along the join--no pumping required. This capillary effect could be used to guide all kinds of fluids through spacecraft, from cryogenic fuel to recycled waste water. The phenomenon is difficult to study on Earth, where it is damped by gravity, yet on the space station large scale corner flows are easy to create and observe. "

By studying this principle the team has been granted three patents. One if for a microgravity condensing heat exchanger. Another if for a device which "separates and controls multiphase fluids". And the third?

The coffee cup.

"As you sip, more fluid keeps coming, and you can enjoy your coffee in a weightless environment-- clear down to the last drop," says Pettit. "This may well be what future space colonists use when they want to have a celebration."